Pope Benedict XVI's monument unveiled in Vitsebsk province

A monument to Pope Benedict XVI has been unveiled in the village of Luchai, Pastavy district in the Vitsebsk region. The three-meter-high monument to the current leader of the Roman Catholic Church was errected on the territory of a local cathedral which is a 18th-century architectural asset. Belapan reports that the sculpture symbolizes the loyalty of the Catholic church in Belarus to Pope Benedict XVI. The opening of the monument is timed with the arrival of Vatican's state secretary Tarciose Bertone who is to visit Belarus on June 18-22 at the invitation of the Belarusian government.

In the past three years, two monuments to Pope John Paul II were errected in Belarus -- in the village of Mosar, Glybokaye district and in the town of Valozhyn, Minsk region.